"Happy are they, in my opinion, to whom it is given either to do something worth writing about, or to write something worth reading; most happy, of course, those who do both." Pliny the Younger-Letter to the historian Tacitus. C. AD 106

Monday, 9 January 2012

Perspective in Photography (Importance of Angles in Photography)

PWe are so used to photographs that have been taken with the normal and straight angles. You would have the predictable landscape portrait mode and and the usual straight lines. As they say, normal can some times be boring. Photographing even the most common objects can become an exciting challenge when you try to take snaps from unique and uncommon angles. Taking photographs from bottom up might lend a rather distinct quality to the snap, making it even more so, special! Take for example these photographs of a high power electricity cable pylon! Focussing the camera at mid-point, or the top could give the photograph a rather surreal quality! Look at these photographs and notice how surreal the Electricity Pylon looks:

The angles in this photograph are rather unique and they have been exaggerated by the orientation of the photographer!

A slight twist in perspective lends a distinctive “feel” to the photograph, as exemplified in the photograph pasted below. The same pylon photographed above now looks different, because by changing the perspective and angle, you have essentially highlighted another aspect of the object, namely its angularity!

The lines in the above two photographs converge towards a point at the top vertically! the lines lead the eye to the top, exaggerating the height of the pylon:
It is not just pylons and high rise buildings that offer interesting subjects to photograph, but in fact, tall trees also can offer ideal objects to photograph. The best position would be at the base of the tall object. Once you are positioned at the base, you should then aim for the best perspective, a point at the apex of the converging lines:
In this case it might be said that the effect is absent! This however is because the tree is top heavy!
However, it is not just vertical angles that lend a rather surreal effect, a horizontal orientation can also lead the eye to a particular point point in the picture:

In the above photograph, which has a horizontal orientation, the eye is lead towards a point towards the centre, lending a sense of, “depth”!

Photographing Clouds can also lend a sense of height and space as in the photographs pasted below:

To conclude, I believe photography is all about leading the eye of the viewer towards a particular point, lending the viewer your perspective, lending him your eyes, letting him see things from your perspective!

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About Me

I did my twelfth from Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, and my graduation, post graduation from Delhi University.A husband, a parent and an educator, I enjoy travelling, taking photographs, and writing. My philosophy of life is that it is important for you to live life to the fullest, and yes, you should be able to make a difference to others, otherwise you'd be living only for yourself, and that would be no fun, would it?